Facts
A. and B. live in a house in Möhlin and decorate it with Christmas lighting from November to February. They also operate year-round lighting of the house and garden. D. and C., the neighbors, felt disturbed by the lighting and applied to the municipality for a time restriction and reduction of the light emissions. The municipal council rejected the application. D. and C. then filed an administrative appeal, which was upheld by the Department of Construction, Transport and Environment of the Canton of Aargau. A. and B. appealed against this decision to the Administrative Court of the Canton of Aargau, which partially upheld the appeal and restricted the lighting in time. A. and B. have filed a public law appeal against this decision.Considerations
The Federal Court dismissed the appeal. It found that artificial light is to be considered an emission within the meaning of the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) and must therefore be limited at an early stage in accordance with the precautionary principle, insofar as this is technically and operationally feasible and economically viable. The time restriction of the year-round lighting to 10:00 pm is proportionate, as it only represents a minor interference with the appellants' fundamental rights, while there is a public interest in avoiding unnecessary light emissions. The restriction of the Christmas lighting to the period from the 1st Advent to January 6th with switch-off at 1:00 am the following day adequately takes into account both the private…